Method for the manufacture of construction columns



METHOD FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF CONSTRUCTION COLUMNS Filed Jan. 13, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 mw m-H rw un I m m- HZI -H m l T .RN m m w\ m e M r W 1 W m M wmm m w W Q w W &

Feb. 26, 1935. w. A. KRANER 4 1,992,376

METHOD FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF CONSTRUCTION COLUMNS Filed Jam, 13, 1934 w 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 AITORNEY5 chine.

Y UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE METHOD r01; THE MANUFACTURE H 'CONSTRUCTION COLUMNS V I Warren A. Kraner, San Franciscm CaliL, assig'nor'" to Cement Wrapped Pipe Company, Ltd., San Francisco, Calif., a corporation of Arizona Application January 13 1534, Serial No. 706,503

3 Claims. (0]. 25-154) This invention relates generally to methods and machines for the manufacture of construction columns, particularly those employed in piersor abutments and which are commo'nly known as piles.

' It is a general object of theinvention to provide a method for the manufacture of an armored pile of the character disclosed and claimed in my co-pending Patent No. 1,950,801, granted March 13, 1934. The pile "disclosed insaid 00-, pending application iscprovided with a grooved core surrounded by a reinforced jacket ofcon-j crete. The presentinvention makes it possible to form such a jacket in a minimum of time and at a cost basis, enabling commercial production.

Further objects of'the invention will appear from the following description in which the preferred embodiment of the invention has been set forth in detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. I

Referring to the drawings:

'Figure 1 is a side elevational view, in crosssection, illustrating themore essential parts of my machine and its application in the manufacture ofconcrete jacketed'piles. V

Figure 2 is a cross sectional detail taken along the line2 2 of Figure 1. 1

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional detail, taken along theline3-3 of Figurel. s

Figure 4 is a plan view, illustrating the manner in which the concrete and reinforcement are supplied to the rotating form in carrying out my invention, g

Figure 5 is a side elevational view-,partly in cross-section, showing a concrete jacketed pile manufactured in accordance with mymethod.

Both the method and the machine disclosed herein have been generically disclosed and claimed in my co-pending application Serial No. 675,659,

filed June 14, 1933, particularly with respect to:

the supplying of a concrete jacket for steel pipes and conduits. In the present invention modifigations have been made, to facilitate manufacture ofa concrete jacketed pile of thecharacter re e t a o e-r 5 7 r Referring to Figure 5, there shown a pile or construction column of the character which I de-f sireto manufacture by my method and. my ma- This pile consists of ,acore 10, formedof suitablematerial such as wood, the periphery'of which is provided with a continuous groove 11 of helicoidal form. Surrounding the core there is a jacket 12of concretewhich is provided with a metallic reinforcement '13, Covering the con-' crete there is a surfacing 14 of cloth or like material; Although the concrete jacket affords a smooth exterior, it will benoted that the concrete fills the helicoidal groove l l, so as to afford a good interlock between the jacket and the core. This interlocknot onlyserves to properly distribute stresses between the jacket and the core, but also serves aswa labyrinth seal to prevent seepage between the jacket and the core;

Referring now toFigures 1 to 3 inclusive, the principal parts of the machine which are utilized consist of a guide structure 16-over which the plastic concrete,v mixed conveyed for its applicationvtothe Wood ,co're'lfi, With reference to the detailed construction illustrated, the guide structureisformed bya channel 1'7, having its fiat back uppermost. In order to operatively support channel 17, a plate 18 underlies its intermediate portion, and has its edges secured to the depending side flanges 19. A stirrup 21 underlies plate 18, and theseparts are pivotally connected together bymeans of a bolt or pin 22. Sucha pivotal connection permits swinging of the channel 17 about a generally upright axis. Stirrup 21 is in turn pivotally connected upon a horizontal axis with a yoke 23. This latter connection is formed by the pivot pins or journals 24, between stirrup 21 and the side upright members 26 of the yoke 23. The attachment between the side upright members 26 and the main portion of the yoke 23 is preferably adjustable, as by means of bolts 27 which can be engaged in any one of several apertures inthe upright members 26. Yoke 23 ;is in turncarried by a frame 28 which-forms apartpf a movable carriage. It may, be explained at this point that in operating the machine core 10 is mouhted upon suitable centers; for rotation upon its axis. 1 The carriage, of which frame 28 is a part, is adapted to be moved longitudinally of the axis of rotation of core, 10, at a suitably synchronized rate.

It isevidentfrom the above description that the support for channel 21 permits universal movement of this channelwith respect to the core 10. In other words, this channel can be swung about a generally upright axis at various angles with respect to the axis of rotation of the core, orcan be tilted at various angles with respect to the horizontal. t

In order toprovide means for feeding a layer of plastic material upon the upper surface of the channel 17, I provide. a hopper 31 which can be made of sheet metalplates welded togethen;

axis of pivot pin 22, so that varying amounts of 'I'naterial within the hopper have substantially no effect upon counterbalancing of the channel. It is desirable to retain hopper 31 in its operating position by a hinge connection, so that it can be unlocked and swung to one side. Thus, one side of the hopper has been shown connected to one side of the channell'l by hinge structure 32.

The other side of the hopper is adapted to be retained in operating position by releasable locking means which may be formed as follows:A

rod 33 has a'pivotal connection 34 with one side'- of the channel 17. A collar 36 is slidably positioned upon rod 34 and is urged toward the pivotal connection 35 by compression spring 3'7. Mounted upon the correspondingside of hopper 31, there is a bracket 39, having a lower flange 46 which is slotted to receive rod 34. Upon rod 34 swinging outwardly and downwardly, collar 36 is freed with respect to flange 40, to permit the hopper to be swung to one side about the axis of hinge structure 32; When the hopper is returned to its normal position, rod 34can be swung upwardly to again engage collar 36 above the slotted flange 40. In this connection it will be noted that the surfaces of collar 36 are so formed as'to permit automatic engagement'of the collar with the upper surface of flange 40, when the rod 34 is swung upwardly.

a Certain parts of the 'hopper 31 serve to de-- termine the thickness of the coating applied to the pipe. Therefore, it is desirable to have this hopper occupy a predetermined position with respect to the channel 17 when it is in operating position. For this reason, 'spacerelements 42 have been shown interposed between the lower side edges of the hopper 31 and the side edge portions of channel 17.- -The hopper rests upon these spacer bars or elements when in normal operating position as shown in Figure 1. Plastic material supplied to hopper 31 is fed forwardly over channel 17, towards the pipe to be'coated. A smooth surface for the upper side of the channel can be'secured by a sheet metal surfacing 44. In order to prevent any flow of plastic material in the reverse directionthat is, underneath the rear lower edge of the hopperthe rear hopper wall 45 is provided withan'adjustable gate'46. The lower edge of gate 46 can be adjusted to be in close proximity with the sheet metal surfacing 44 of channel 17, to permit passage of a strip of foraminous reinforcement, but to prevent ex- 7 intermediate part 50a of the lip 50 is offset upwardly with respect to the side parts 502). As will be presently explained, this is for the purpose of supplying the layer of plastic material with a distinct intermediate ridge'for filling the groove in the core 10.

' In order to secure a uniform and continuous flow of plastic hydraulic Portland cement mortar from hopper 31, below the lip portion 50, I provide means to subject certain parts to continuous and rapid vibration. Thus, mounted upon the forward wall 49 of the'hopper 31, by way of a bracket 52, there is-apneumatic hammer 53. The operating plunger 54 of this hammer rests core 10, the layer of plastic material fed from the hopper is conveyed along by a strip of foraminous metal reinforcement, such as wire screening 58.

As is evidenced from Figure 1, this strip of re inforcement passes beneath the lower edge of a gate 46, and is therefore substantially flat upon the upper surfacing 44 as it passes beneath the hopper towards the core. This reinforcement is supplied from a suitable source, such as a reel, and is preferably placed under tension and flattened before it passes beneath hopper 31. Thus, in Figure 1 the reinforcing strip 58 is shown passed beneath a roller 59 fixed to the side bracket 61. From roller 59 the reinforcement passes over roller 62 and fixed roller 63, before it passes beneath hopper 31. Rollers 62 and 63 are carried by the side brackets 64, and roller 62 is adjustable as by means of hand screws 66.

'It will be noted in Figure 1 that channel 17 terminates short of the core 10, and'that immediately underlying the core there is an extension plate 68. The upper surfaceof this plate is substantially co-planar with the upper surfacing 44 of the channel 17, and interposed between the forward end edge of channel 17, on the ad jacent edge of plate 68, there is a lateral slot 69. Plate 68 is fixed to side structural members '71 which in turn are secured to the side flanges 19 of channel 17. Plate 68 is preferably vibrated rapidly in a vertical direction, and for thispurpose there is shown a pnuematic hammer 72 mounted upon the structure members 71 beneath the plate 68. The operating plunger 73 for this hammer engages a cross-bar'74 which in turnerigages the under side of plate 68. In order to confine the layer of plastic material during its movement fromhopper'31 to plate 68, side guide strips 76 are mounted upon the edge portions of channel 17.

During operation of themachine it is desirable to have plate 68 yieldably urged upwardly against the lower'side of the core, but under varying conditions of operation it is also desirable'to adjust the amount of this force. justment there is showna cross-bar 77 secured to structural members 71, and upon which various counterbalancing weights 78 can be disposed;

An increased amount of weight applied to cross-,

bar 77 tends to reduce the force normally urging plate 68 upwardly against the lower side of the core;

Simultaneously with the application of plastic material and foraminous reinforcement to the pipe, it is desirable to apply an outer surfacing material. Good results have been secured by utilizing ordinary cotton cheesecloth, although paper can be employed'if desired.' Thus, referring to Figure 1, there is shown a strip 81 of cheesecloth which is supplied from a suitable reel. As this strip comes from thesupply reel it is passed between a pair of parallel bars '82, to remove wrinkles and the like, strip passes over a guide plate 83 which is carried upon the under side of channel 17. Upon leaving the forward end of guide plate 83, the cloth.

To enable such ad From'bars 82 the strip is passed over a roller 84, and from thence is passed upwardly through slot 69 to the upper side of plate 68.

For supporting certain parts of the machine, as for example the cloth and reinforcement supply reels, a pair of upright structural members 86 are indicated, near the rear end of the channel 17 and on opposite sides thereof. These upright members are generally adjustable with respect to the carriage for the machine, and the sides of the channel may be provided with rollers for engaging their inner edges, thus generally limiting swinging of the channel 17 about a vertical axis.

Operation of the machine described above, in carrying out my method, can be reviewed as follows: The machine is initially set up and ad-.

justed to secure the thickness of coating desired upon the core, and to insure proper operation consistent with the diameter of the core being coated and the pitch of groove 11. Assuming the machine has been properly adjusted for opera plastic mix is applied to the same, for substan-' tially the fu11width of the reinforcement, and this layer, having a cross-sectional contour, substantially as shown in Figure 2, is then conveyed, together with the reinforcement, towards the core. As the plate 68, the cloth strip 81 is applied to the under side of the same, to be simultaneously wrapped upon the core together with the plastic material.

In a proper synchronized operation, the ridge formed by the olfset of part 50a of the graduated lip 50 meshes with a helicoidal groove 11 in the core, thus furnishing suflicient plastic material to substantially fill the same. Because of the tension supplied to the reinforcement as it is'applied to the core, and because of repeated pounding or vibratory movement of plate.68, the reinforcement embeds itself to an intermediate depth in the layer of plastic material. Referring to. Figreinforcement progresses over.

ure 4, it will be noted that the angle of advance of the layer of plastic material with respect to the core, and the width of the layer, are such that one edge portion of the plastic layer as it is being supplied overlaps with an edge portion of a preceding convolution. This serves to overlap the edges of successive convolutions of the reinforcement, as shown in Figure 5, and also serves to ensure a good bond betweenadjacent edges of successive convolutions. It will also be noted that the cloth strip 81, as shown in Figure 4, is offset with respect to the layer of plastic material. This results in one edge portion of the layer of plastic material being exposed for forming proper junctions, and also causes the surfacing to be overlapped, as shown in Figure 5.

In some instances it may be desirable to provide a jacket of greater thickness than that shown in Figure 5. In such event the cloth surfacing is stripped ofi the first layer of concrete, after the concrete has set, and then a second layer of plastic material of 'even thickness is applied upon top of the first coating, preferably by wrapping in the reverse direction.

I claim:

1. In a method for applying a coating of plastic material to a core provided with a helicoidal groove in its periphery, the steps of applying a layer of plastic material helicoidally upon the core at a pitch corresponding to the pitch of the groove, the layer having a portion of increased thickness to substantially fill the groove.

2. In a method for applying a coating of plastic material to a form, the form being provided with a helicoidal groove in its periphery, the steps of applying a layer of plastic material helicoidally upon the core at a pitch corresponding to the pitch of the groove, the layer having an inter-. mediate portion of increased thickness to substantially fill the groove. V

3. In a method for applying a coating of plastic material to a core provided with a helicoidal groove in its periphery, the steps of applying a layer of plastic material helicoidally upon the core at a pitch corresponding to the pitch of the groove, and simultaneously applying a foraminous reinforcement in such a manner that the reinforcement is embedded in the layer of plastic material, they layer as it is being supplied having a portion of increased thickness to substantially flll the groove.

V WARREN A. KRANER. 

